The Pool

INFO: Fri 24 Feb / Light House 2 / 18:15 / 103 mins

DIRECTOR: Doris Dörrie

WRITER: Doris Dörrie, Madeleine Fricke, Karin Kaci

CAST: Sabrina Amali, Ilknur Boyruz, Nilam Farooq

COUNTRY: Germany

The Girl from Tomorrow

INFO: Sun 26 Feb / Light House 2 / 16:00 / 96 mins

DIRECTOR: Marta Savina

WRITER: Marta Savina

CAST: Gaetano Aronica, Dario Aita, Francesco Colella

COUNTRY: Italy

A woman violently forced into a marriage makes a courageous bid for justice in Marta Savina’s first feature. Based on an extraordinary true story, the filmmaker brings us to 1960s Sicily, where a young woman, Lia, is initially beguiled by the charms of Lorenzo. Troubled by his possessiveness and possible links to organised crime, she attempts to end the relationship only to face shocking consequences. But Lia and her family are determined to fight back.

Suitable for 15 years or over.

With over thirty features and documentaries under her belt, Doris Dörrie is one of Germany’s most-prolific filmmakers. Here, she dives into culture wars as a female-only swimming pool faces a shakeup. Previously a destination for gossip hounds, the regulars are not sure how to deal with new arrivals - a group of burkini-clad and veiled women. What follows is a biting comedy that questions stereotypes and ponders a fascinating topic: what makes a female body?

*DIRECTOR IN ATTENDANCE

La Syndicaliste

INFO: Thurs 2 Mar / Light House 1 / 15:40 / 121 mins

DIRECTOR: Jean-Paul Salomé

WRITER: Fadette Drouard, Caroline Michel-Aguirre, (based on the book by) Jean-Paul Salomé

CAST: Isabelle Huppert, Alexandra Maria Lara, Marina Foïs

French movie star Isabelle Huppert plays Maureen Kearney, the head union representative of a French multinational nuclear powerhouse who became a whistleblower, denouncing top-secret deals that shook the French nuclear sector. Alone against the world, she fought government ministers and industry leaders tooth and nail to bring the scandal to light and to defend more than 50,000 jobs. But following a violent assault where she is seen as a victim, Maureen becomes a suspect.

*MAUREEN KEARNEY IN ATTENDANCE

1976

INFO: Wed 1 Mar / Light House 1 / 13:30 / 95 mins

DIRECTOR: Manuella Martelli

WRITER: Manuela Martelli & Alejandra Moffat

CAST: Nicolás Sepúlveda, Hugo Medina Carmen Gloria Martínez

COUNTRY: Chile

Chilean actor Manuela Martelli turns director for her debut feature. Set during the third year of Augusto Pinochet's dictatorship, the film follows Carmen (Aline Kuppenheim), a privileged housewife whose life is interrupted when she is asked to care for a wounded revolutionary. The corruption, oppression, and misogyny endemic throughout Pinochet's reign become part of Carmen's everyday life in this taut drama. It comes to DIFF having won the First Feature award at the BFI London Film Festival.

Suitable for 15 years or over.

Butcher's Crossing

INFO: Sun 26 Feb / Light House 1 / 11:00 / 105 mins

DIRECTOR: Gabe Polsky

WRITER: John Edward Williams & Gabe Polsky

CAST: Nicholas Cage, Rachel Keller, Jeremy Bobb

COUNTRY: USA

Nicholas Cage - enjoying a remarkable career run - dons a cowboy hat to play Miller, a veteran buffalo hunter in Gabe Polsky’s western. Set in the 1870s and based on John Williams’s 1960 novel, it centres on the dramatic exploits of a group of buffalo hunters. Polsky embraces drama in the American West as he follows Miller and a naïve adventurer (Fred Hechinger) as they set out on an arduous journey to the Colorado Rockies, risking life and sanity.

BlackBerry

INFO: Wed 1 Mar / Light House 1 / 18:00 / 91 mins

DIRECTOR: Matt Johnson

WRITER: Matt Johnson

CAST: Jay Baruchel, Glenn Howerton, Cary Elwes

COUNTRY: Canada

It was set to change the world of communications, but BlackBerry's success was dramatically short-lived despite its massive rise in popularity. Director Matt Johnson's drama examines the story behind the Canadian smartphone and the hectic early days of communications tech. The film focuses on the relationship between its co-founders and friends, Mike Lazaridis and Jim Balsillie, who saw their game-changing device lose its shine prematurely due to the appearance of the iOS and Android operating systems.

*DIRECTOR IN ATTENDANCE

Dead for a Dollar

INFO: Wed 1 Mar / Light House 1 / 15:30 / 114 mins

DIRECTOR: Walter Hill

WRITER: Walter Hill

CAST: Rachel Brosnahan, Christoph Walz, Willem Dafoe

COUNTRY: USA

Top filmmaker Walter Hill turns to the western genre in a star-studded tale of rival cutthroats, retribution and justice. It centres on a confrontation between a conniving bounty hunter (Christoph Waltz) tasked with finding a young woman who has run away with an army deserter, and his longtime rival (Willem Defoe). Aided and abetted by his cast, Dead for a Dollar marks the latest arsenal in the storytelling career of a movie legend.

New Normal

INFO: Sat 25 Feb / Light House 1 / 11:00 / 111 mins

DIRECTOR: Jung Bum-Shik

WRITER: Jung Bum-Shik

CAST: Lee Yoo-Mi, Choi Min-ho, Choi Ji-Woo

COUNTRY: South Korea

Renowned Korean horror filmmaker Jung Bum-shik's latest outing mixes comedy with drama as six characters connect over four days in Seoul. These six characters do not intend to come together, but circumstances set them on a path with disturbing consequences. Told through chapters, the film bases itself on the Korean idea of hon-bab or eating alone, a concept that roughly translates to loneliness. Will coming together end their loneliness, or will it put an end to them full stop?

Plan 75

INFO: Sat 25 Feb / Light House 2 / 16:00 / 112 mins

DIRECTOR: Chie Hayakawa

WRITER: Jason Gray, Chie Hayakawa

CAST: Chieko Baishô, Hayato Isomura, Stefanie Arianne

COUNTRY: Japan

Pearl

INFO: Fri 24 Feb / Light House 1 / 22:30 / 102 mins

DIRECTOR: Ti West

WRITER: Ti West, Mia Goth

CAST: Mia Goth, David Corenswet, Tandi Wright, Matthew Sunderland

COUNTRY: USA

In 2022, the film X terrified audiences as a group of filmmakers set out to make a porn movie and ended up fighting for their lives. At the centre of it was Mia Goth, who plays an aspiring actor, Maxine, and Pearl, an older lady with a dark secret. Ti West’s prequel takes us back to the early days of the 1900s. Goth reprises her role as Pearl revealing - in blood-spattered detail - where her dark side first emerged.

The End of Sex

INFO: Sat 4 Mar / Light House 2 / 18:20 / 97 mins

DIRECTOR: Sean Garrity

WRITER: Jonas Chernick

CAST: Jonas Chernick, Emily Hampshire, Gray Powell, Lily Gao, Melinie Scrofano

COUNTRY: Canada

First-time filmmaker Chie Hayakawa suggests a system that would offer euthanasia to the elderly - and then subverts every aspect of its concept - in this drama with sci-fi elements. Set in Japan’s near future, it tells of an elderly woman whose means are dwindling, a ‘Plan 75’ salesman invested in peddling the project, and a young labourer facing life-changing choices. It’s a prescient and damning takedown of the dangers of a cold and unsympathetic society.

Between piles of laundry and the ever-increasing demands of their children, Josh (Jonas Cernick) and Emma (Emily Hampshire) have lost their matrimonial spark. Seizing an opportunity to revitalise things in the bedroom, the couple sends their kids to school camp for a week. The results are comical rather than steamy as they stumble in their bid to reignite the flame. Both leads previously worked with director Sean Gerrity on My Awkward Sexual Adventure.

*DIRECTOR + WRITER IN ATTENDANCE